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In a longitudinal field experiment, 42 groups were assembled on the factors of individual ability and attitude similarity resulting in a 2 x 2 crossed ANOVA design. These groups then worked on six projects which spanned a three-month time period. For each project, measures of group performance and group cohesion were taken. Analyses showed that high ability groups exhibited the best performance whereas attitudinally similar groups expressed the greatest cohesiveness. In addition, correlational data suggest that the effect of attitude similarity on cohension is not immediate, but develops over time, and that across the six projects, performance can be both positively and negatively related to cohension. (Author)

Quality of performance feedback provided an individual may have pronounced impact on his motivation level and be at least partly responsible for social facilitation results. Male students (N=118) performed a dart-throwing task in the presence or absence of a three-person evaluative audience. After each of seven trials they received consistently positive, average, or negative performance feedback. Results showed a social facilitation effect of audience presence and initially facilitated performance under average feedback, but no interactions. Post-performance mood questionnaires suggest that separate mechanisms could mediate performance under each of the three feedback conditions. (Author)

Based on research indicating the existence of a generalized positive stereotype of physically attractive individuals, the present study was designed to investigate the effects of an individual's attractiveness on attributions about his achievement-related behavior. In the context of an accuracy-of-person perception task, 162 male and female subjects were shown a photograph of either a male or female physically attractive or unattractive stimulus person. Subjects were told that the stimulus person had either succeeded or failed on an examination, and were asked to attribute the stimulus person's success or failure to four attributional categories (i.e., task difficulty, luck, ability, and effort). The results indicated that physical attractiveness affected causal attributions, especially for those who were unattractive. Unattractive individuals were seen as having very high ability and expending much effort when successful, but very low ability and effort expended when they failed. This finding was especially pronounced for female, as compared to male subjects. A number of such sex-related findings are discussed as well as the implication of these findings for other attribution-type studies. (Author)

Using "A Model of the Functions of Master Instructor" (HumRRO-TR-73-23) as a guide, procedures and materials for training Army instructors to improve their classroom effectiveness were developed. In constructing the model, various materials on instructor characteristics and responsibilities in four main areas (training programs, classroom behaviors, professional growth, and innovative practices) were gathered from civilian and military sources. Special attention was given to materials devoted to classroom management techniques. Each of the 40 tasks described in the model was carefully reviewed considering three aspects: performance situation, kinds of information needed, and sources of information. The report elaborates on the activities and experiences an instructor would undertake to acquire or update the skills described in the model. The main emphasis is on description of recommended activities to be undertaken in connection with the performance of each instructor task cited in the model. The document concludes with a 12-item bibliography and five appendixes: a model of the functions of a master instructor, a sample system analysis, a sample of matrix terminal and enabling objectives, a sample observation form, and videotaping objectives. (Author/BP)

A study of the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Nurse Aide (NA), and Homemaker-Home Health Aide (H-HHA) occupations was conducted during 1972-73 in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Questionnaires were administered to 600 LPNs, NAs, and H-HHAs in 30 health facilities who rated the frequency and importance of 346 tasks. Usable questionnaires numbered 492. A representative sample of employers also rated the tasks for each job title. The data revealed considerable task overlap between job titles and between patient care settings, and much agreement between job titles concerning the frequency and importance of task performance. On this basis, the study constructed an outline for an experience based core curriculum containing four modular units of instruction and organized to provide exit points for various job titles leading up to the LPN level. The study also developed a model for community-wide involvement in aide education and utilization to maximize the career mobility and effective use of aides. Appendixes comprising 125 pages provide: a brief glossary; an inventory of hospitals, nursing homes, and providers of home health care in the Metropolitan Washington area; the employer and employee task inventory questionnaires; data cross-tabulations by patient-care setting, shift, education, and years of experience; and a bibliography. (JR)

The study investigated the effects of practice on the mastery of two industrial arts skills (hammering and sawing). The major question asked was whether a film followed by practice leads to better mastery than a film presented without practice. The relationships among cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects of the task were explored. The subjects were 148 fourth to eighth grade boys and girls with no previous industrial arts experience. Students were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups and provided different types of instructional treatment. The students were given attitude and knowledge tests on the films they were shown and rated by experts on their skill performance; they were administered a battery of achievement, intelligence, and attitude tests as well as the Rod-and-Frame test, to identify their cognitive styles. Results are described by instructional treatment, by sex, and by level of intelligence. Correlations among knowledge, attitude, and skill performance are presented, as well as the factor analysis of the major variables in the study, and regression analysis. A summary of the results and their instructional applications are presented, with implications and recommendations. The groups that had practice had higher mean scores than the groups that just saw the film. (Author/AJ)

Subjects were given three trials to speak and to write as fast as they could both the alphabet and a set of two-digit numbers. The speed or oral responding was approximately 6 syllables per second for letters and 7 syllables per second for digits. The speed for writing was approximately 2 items per second for both digits and letters. Correlations between tasks within the same mode were all significant; correlations between modes on the same task were usually not. Implications for research in verbal learning and memory are discussed. (Author)

Research resulting in the development of the Specific Aptitude Test Battery for use in selecting inexperienced or untrained individuals for training as Utility Hands (paper goods) was described. Aptitudes measured were form perception, clerical perception, and manual dexterity. Job analysis was performed by observation of the workers' performance on the job and in consultation with the workers' supervisors. A descriptive rating was used which consisted of seven items: (1) quantity of work, (2) quality of work, (3) accuracy of work, (4) job knowledge, (5) facility for work, (6) job versatility, and (7) all-around job ability. Statistical analysis of ratings were used to determine which aptitudes should be considered for inclusion in the battery. The objective was to develop a battery of 2, 3, or 4 aptitudes with cutting scores at five point intervals at the point where about the same percent will meet the cutting scores as the percent placed in the high criterion group and which will maximize the relationship between the battery and the criterion. Appended was a list of organizations cooperating in the study, a descriptive rating scale, and a description of job duties. (BJG)

This report documents the theory, structure, and implementation of a performance processor (written in FORTRAN IV) that can accept performance demonstration data representing various levels of operator's skill and, under user control, analyze data to provide candidate performance measures and validation test results. The processor accepts two types of information: (1) sample performance data on magnetic tape, and (2) user information reflecting knowledge about features of the performance that are considered to be important to measurement. The sample performance data input is smoothed by the processor in order to remove or reduce noise factors in accordance with information provided by the user. Criterion performance functions are, optionally, provided by the user or are computed by the processor using skilled performers' data. The processor then develops a discrete representation of the continuous performance data based on observed deviations from the criterion functions. This discrete representation, in turn, is used to model each performance using state-space techniques. The processor operates on the state-space model to compute vectors which form generators of various conceivable measure spaces. Candidate performance measures are then generated by operating on the vectors with multiple regression algorithms. Empirical validation tests of several types are applied to the candidate measures for assessment of their validity-likelihood. (Author/DEP)

To study the effects of practice and incentive on learner performance on the aircraft instrument comprehension task, 48 third-year Air Force cadets were chosen as subjects. The subjects were expected to be able to identify which one of four pictures of aircraft in flight most nearly corresponded to the position indicated on a panel of attitude and heading instruments. Incentives were in the form of additional points and an opportunity to "fly" a formation trainer. The practice variable was manipulated by changing the instructional materials. The pretest-treatment-post-test experimental design provided data for analysis. Data revealed that neither variable (practice or incentive) significantly affected the accuracy of post-test responses, but they did affect in a positive way the post-test rate of responding. The rate of responding is often considered to be a good indicator of an individual's productivity. Sample instructional materials and a post-test item are appended. (AG)

The question of developmental synchrony within the concrete operations period described in Piagetian literature was investigated. The idea of synchrony has been challenged by Brainerd's initial groupement research, which indicated a two-dimensional structure, corresponding to class operations and relational operations. A review of the literature indicated conflicting views concerning the nature of synchrony and how it may best be investigated. The secondary issue of distinguishing which groupements were operationalized by several traditional Piagetian tasks was explored. Indications from this study were (1) that the class-relational distinction was not a clear-cut one; (2) considering absolute difficulty level, groupements I, II, and III were more difficult than the other five groupement tasks; however, groupement IV, also a "class" task, indicated an intermediate difficulty level in the older grades; (3) traditional Piagetian performance does not appear to be completely subsumed by the groupement tasks; and (4) nonmetric scaling and clustering techniques aid in the analysis of dichotomous, developmental data. (Author/BJG)

Performance is affected by cognitive learning skills, but also by the reasons people perceive as causes of their successes and failures. People with high achievement needs perceive their successes as caused by their own ability and effort, and their failures as caused by lack of effort. People with low achievement needs blame their failures on lack of ability and do not take credit for their ability when they experience success. A change in attributions changes the way people perform. In one research study, high achievers given placebos they thought would interfere with their abilities tried less hard on a task, while people with low achievement needs and little self-confidence, since they had an excuse for experiencing difficulty, did better than usual. In another study, children subjected to repeated failures kept trying if they believed effort would make a difference. Tendencies to form causal attributions are learned, perhaps differently by different racial and social groups. However, interventions can change people's assessment of their chances for success. For example, tests on children who were reinforced for exhibiting effort attributions showed that their work improved and they became more persistent. Teachers should thus take students' individual attribution styles into consideration as a characteristic which affects achievement behavior, and, at the same time, attempt to change students' attributions in the direction of emphasizing ability and effort. (CD)

The occupational survey's purpose was to identify the skills which are performed and essential for success in three veterinary lay occupations: animal health assistant, animal hospital receptionist, and animal health technician. Survey objectives were accomplished by constructing an initial task inventory of 21 duty areas, validating the initial inventory, and conducting a random survey of 100 veterinarians. A computer analysis of the 40 survey responses resulted in a computation of frequencies and means for each task statement. The analyses findings cover the 268 specific tasks performed in each of the three veterinarian lay occupations, the relative importance of the specific task, and a comparison among the three occupations for each task statement. The findings are supported by tables showing the statistical means and frequencies. A 16-item bibliography is appended. (BP)

The purpose of this study was to develop a screening procedure for undergraduate pilot training (UPT). This procedure was based upon the use of ground-based instrument trainers in which UPT candidates, naive to flying, were evaluated in their performance of job sample tasks; i.e., basic instrument flying. Training and testing sessions were conducted in a highly standardized and tightly controlled environment. Student performance was scored using only objective measures of aircraft control and systems management. The job sample approach proved highly successful in predicting student performance in the T-37 phase of UPT. Attrition, due to causes other than a lack of flying skill, was not satisfactorily predicted by this approach. Two-thirds of the document consists of eight appendixes: T-40 program guide excerpts, T-40 instrument procedures excerpts, test forms and scoring excerpts, T-37 phase summary data, forward selection prediction equations for T-37 phase, pass-fail summary data, forward selection prediction equations for pass-fail, and proposed T-40 screening program guide. (Author/BP)

Incentive, practice, instruction, and feedback were manipulated in a series of four 2 x 2 factorial studies, with Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets and graduate students in education, to determine the individual and combined effects of these variables on learner performance (both speed and accuracy) of an aircraft comprehension task. For each of the experiments, the report provides details on: methods, subjects, materials, procedures, criterion measures, design and data analyses, results, and discussion of results. Although cadets who either practiced the task or were offered an incentive performed significantly faster on the post-test than learners who did not receive these treatments, the experiments generally indicated that instruction, when it is well-designed, appears to be a variable of such impact that it leaves little room for improvement in learner performance that might be attributable to such refinement as practice, incentive, and feedback. Sample instructional, practice, and post-test materials and tables of results are included. (Author/PR)

The literature on performance differences in various tasks as a function of reflection-impulsivity (R-I) is reviewed in this publication. A series of four experiments is then described which involve the cognitive-perceptual basis of R-I of children on a picture recognition memory task. Results from these studies indicated the following important, but tentative, conclusions about the process of picture recognition memory and the underlying perceptual basis of the R-I dimension in children: reflective and impulsive children differ in their propensity to engage in a detailed visual feature analysis of stimulus arrays; the process of visual feature analysis is perhaps the most important component in the underlying basis of R-I; strong inferential evidence was provided that picture recognition memory is primarily a process of visual feature analysis in which the role of verbal labels is minimal and indirect; recognition memory performance is susceptible to differential instructions which emphasize care versus quickness; recognition memory for pictures appears to increase over the elementary school years; and the Selfridge-Neisser model and the recognition paradigm are useful for future research. It was suggested that future research should be performed in this area. (Author/RB)

Intimately involved in any equipment system is the human factor. The people operating the equipment at the remote installations for the Satellite Technology Demonstration (STD) were different from paid employees or from private consumers. The STD site operators were paid only token fees; thus, they are best describd as having been motivated by the service benefits of the system. Indeed, a survey of their interests and capabilities at the onset of the project showed little or no inclination for communications-type equipment. Although not necessarily unsolvable, the problem of training people to operate communications equipment is complex and unique. The STD, therefore, studied the stages and factors involved in training site operators. Initially, the prior experiences and capabilities of the site operators were isolated to provide a base of information against which the effects of the STD experience could be measured. Sequentially evaluated therefore were: (1) training; (2) initial results of the training program; (3) site operator performance throughout the demonstration; and (4) psychological disposition toward the hardware configuration. (Author/EMH)

The report describes field studies involving nonsupervisory Naval maintenance and monitoring electronics personnel. The studies' results indicated that Naval retention was related to a number of individual and job attributes. Extended Naval tenure was associated with lower verbal and clerical aptitudes (Naval Test Battery); higher levels of activity preference, pride in work, personal relations, and satisfaction with supervision and the work itself; a less explicit description of the future; and a belief that others shape and control one's future. The Attribute Preference Scale/Attribute Description Scale (APS/ADS) was developed to measure descriptions of current jobs and job structural attribute preferences. Results showed that Naval personnel who indicated a greater discrepancy between preferred and described job attributes characterized their current jobs less favorably. Twenty pages of appendixes explain and provide copies of the APS/ADS scales, a biographical information sheet, and descriptive statistics for APS/ADS. A distribution list provides the names of those persons and agencies to whom the report was distributed. (Author/JR)

One experiment investigated the relationship of goal setting and locus of control to the work performance of mentally retarded adults and a second experiment was a semi-replication study done on college adults. Two main effects were studied: (1) Method of goal setting (whether a worker set his own goal, had a goal set by a supervisor, or simply observed his own production without setting a goal); and (2) locus of control (whether the subject's locus of control was internal or external). In the first experiment, 48 mentally retarded workers completed a simple task. Setting goals as opposed to not having goals did make a positive difference in production, but it seemed immaterial whether the individual or the supervisor set the goal. Locus of control made no significant difference. A second study was conducted on college students, with the expectation that subjects of higher intelligence would show differences when setting their own goals as opposed to having goals set for them. When 64 university students performed a simple clerical task, neither goal setting nor locus of control seemed to affect performance. The failure to get this result with the college students and the limited effect with the retarded subjects suggest that whether goal setting does or does not improve performance is a function of several factors, including difficulty of task and environmental conditions, and that the relationship between locus of control and work performance is more complex than had previously been thought. (LMS)

The purpose of this study was to assess Welford's dual controlling factor interpretation of Fitts' Law--describing movement time as being a linear function of movement distance (or amplitude) and the required precision of the movement (or target width). Welford's amplification of the theory postulates that two separate processes ought to be distinguished, a faster one concerned with distance covering and a slower one for homing onto the target. Twenty subjects, all scuba divers, were required to perform a reciprocal tapping task. In an attempt to separate the two factors, the subjects were tested on land and underwater. This did not change the basic parameters of the task but did put the subjects under informational stress in that underwater the movement was less ballistic in nature and, therefore, would require the processing of more information (feedback) in order to complete the task. The land data appeared to support Fitts in that the contributions of movement amplitude and precision were approximately equal. However, the relative changes in contribution of these factors to movement time underwater suggests that these parameters do in fact represent separate controlling factors. (Author/MB)

A study was conducted to analyze and compare the job performance of civil service and military pavements maintenance workers and construction equipment operators. A military sample of 2,675 and a civilian sample of 1,974 were surveyed by means of a job inventory checklist and relative time spent rating method. Of the three job types that were identified (grounds maintenance, equipment operators, and pavements workers), military grounds workers expressed the lowest job interest and job utilization of training and skills. No significant difference was found between civilian and military members in number of tasks performed for the total sample; however, average task difficulty and job difficulty appeared higher for the military. A major difference was discovered in length of time on the job with military members reporting considerably less time because of their transitory status. Generally, civilian workers indicated higher job interest and job utilization than did military personnel. To determine if the improved utilization of equipment was an effective means of increasing job interest for military members, a comparison was made between military data collected in 1969 and the current data, and an increase in job interest was indicated as a result of greater equipment use. (ELG)

The study reported here examines the employment-related problems of older workers and develops a research and development strategy for future federally funded projects. Following an introductory section, the content is in fifteen chapters. The first chapter covers a number of critical policy issues and the second concentrates on job-related problems of older workers. Chapter 3 discusses the factors and problems associated with retirement. Health and safety of the older workers is the topic of the fourth chapter, while the fifth covers age and work performance. Part-time work and new types of work-time arrangements are the subjects of chapter 6. Chapters 7-9 focus on the older working women, older minority workers, and older workers in rural areas, respectively. The tenth chapter deals with employer practices, internal labor market experiences, mid-career change, and the role of intermediary organizations in meeting the employment needs of older workers. Chapter 11 is concerned with training and education, while the subject of chapter 12 is current government programs affecting older workers. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act is discussed in the thirteenth chapter. Foreign programs and policies are reviewed in chapter 14. The last chapter presents specific priorities for research projects and recommends projects for immediate support. (EM)

Forty-three preschoolers (14 three-, 16 four-, and 13 five-year-olds), who were attending four multi-age, child-centered classes in a University laboratory school, were assessed for perceptual, cognitive, and affective role-taking ability. These same children were then observed naturalistically (via systematic time sampling) in laboratory classrooms for 11 consecutive weeks. Among the data collected were frequency counts of peer and adult interactions entered into by each child while under observation. Following the final week of observation, the children were again assessed on the role-taking measures. In accordance with the predictions of the study: (a) children with high interaction rates scored higher on role taking than those with lower rates; (b) older children scored higher on role taking than younger children; (c) there were marked gains in role-taking performance across the span of the study. No significant differences were found between children who interacted more with adults and those who interacted more with peers. (Author/CM)

This study was designed (1) to investigate the relationship between physical exertion and mental performance in elementary school children and (2) to determine if male or female mental performances are more affected by physical exertion. A total of 95 second graders participated in six treatments of induced physical exertion during their regularly scheduled physical education classes. The six experimental treatments consisted of a pre-test and five post-tests. The pre-test and final post-test were used as controls in which the subjects performed the mental task with no prior induced physical exertion. The four induced physical exertion treatments lasted 20, 30, 40, and 50 minutes. After each exertion session, the classroom teachers administered a mathematical mental test consisting of 36 first grade level problems. Results indicated that the subjects performed significantly better on the math problems after 50 minutes of physical exertion than after no exertion. Testing also revealed no significant differences between male and female mean difference scores. (Author/JMB)

In organizational settings, research has shown the relationship of task characteristics to attitudes and motivation. This study examines the external validity of the task characteristic-outcome relationship in an educational setting. Subjects were 206 undergraduate psychology students. They were given an inventory of seven task characteristics such as Task Identity, Skill Variety and Autonomy. Using a seven-point scale, they described the extent to which they experienced each one while in school. It was found that the chosen task characteristics are, in general, negatively related to absenteeism and physical and psychological stress. They are also positively related to satisfaction and the desire to stay in school while being completely unrelated to grade point average. According to the canonical correlation analysis, the outcomes best predicted by this set of task characteristics are satisfaction and the desire to stay in school. Task Significance is the task characteristic which is most important to the prediction of these outcomes. (Author/BP)

The doctoral dissertation comprising this report involves a study done to describe the general characteristics (personal and work-related) of a national sample of 1,282 physician assistants (PA's) and to assess their job performance and job satisfaction. Chapter I discusses the project background and purpose, and reviews the literature in three areas: (1) General descriptive characteristics; (2) job performance; and (3) job satisfaction. Chapter II covers methodology and discusses the study sample and variables (personal, background, work environment and job characteristics; and job performance and satisfaction measurements); the research design involving the mailing of questionnaires to PA's and their supervising physician; job performance and satisfaction measurement strategies; and data analysis procedures, including path analysis, a multivariate strategy. Chapter III presents an extensive descriptive analysis of the aforementioned general characteristics of the study sample and some relationships between these variables. Chapter IV discusses the general levels of the study sample's job performance and satisfaction and the relationship between these and the general characteristics variables. Chapter V, in considerable detail, incorporates the study variables into causal models and assesses the resulting multivariate relationships by means of path analysis. Chapter VI presents an assessment of important policy implications suggested by the study results. The questionnaires sent to the PAs and supervising physicians, a comparison of the characterisitcs of two sample subgroups to their respective populations, and some supplementary data analysis tables are appended. (EM)

This paper discusses a procedure for diagnosing adult educational needs, which the author developed and tested for her doctoral dissertation to study the work performance of attendant supervisors at a mental retardation facility. She describes the methodology used as ethnographic research, which entails an analytic description of a culture by looking at an institution as a culture of its own and, for example, attempting to illuminate the meaning of a supervisor's role and perceived performance in terms of the culture of the mental retardation facility. Steps outlined as part of the methodology include identification of salient issues, development of categories of concern as areas on which to focus the diagnosis, identification of symptoms, and movement through inference to symptoms to problems to educational needs. The procedure is called responsive because it is meant to respond to the information needs of the client and rigorous because the diagnosis is done with careful description and attempts to document the bases on which judgments are made. For example, the data collection process described involves a variety of techniques: Formal and informal interviews, observation, document analysis, and questionnaires. Strengths of the procedure are also discussed. A summary of the diagnostic study conducted for the dissertation is appended. (LMS)

Higher order need strength (HONS) has been shown to moderate the relationship between work role characteristics and some traditional dependent variables in organizations. It was hypothesized that employees with strong HONS might be more sensitive to variability in their work environments than people with weaker HONS. This would happen because these employees expect that their needs can be statisfied at work. Second, it was hypothesized that employees with strong HONS would be more likely than employees with weaker HONS to notice more variability especially in two aspects of work (intrinsically motivating job characteristics and performance-contingent rewards) that are most relative to these needs. Employees with strong HONS would be less sensitive, however, to supervisory style and coordination, the other two variables measured. The sample was 957 (response rate = 79%) employees of all levels and all units of a heavy manufacturing company located in the Midwest. The results supported the hypotheses that employees' HONS is related to the variances in their perceptions of their work environments and that the sensitivity to environmental variation is more pronounced for aspects of the work environment that may be instrumental in satisfying HONS (job characteristics) and that may serve as feedback on job performance (contingent rewards). (Author)

This paper discusses a series of interdependent projects designed to further define the covert processes involved in utilizing cognitive skills, as well as the procedures necessary to train an individual in their use. In an early project designed to ascertain the types of strategies used by learners in an academic or training environment, participants received several learning tasks to perform. They were then asked to identify and explain the kinds of strategies used to learn these materials and to suggest other useful methods. Learning tasks included paired associates, serial lists, free recall lists, and reading comprehension. Data collected from this study were analyzed and combined with previous research results to produce the Learning Activities Questionnaire (LAQ), which has been extensively field tested and revised. Current results indicate that more successful learners, and those with more years of schooling, use meaningful elaboration strategies in preference to the more rote, or superficial, strategies. (Author/MV)

Three kinds of rating statements, trait-oriented, worker-oriented, and task-oriented were evaluated in a context permitting the comparisons to be made in terms of criteria external to the ratings. One hundred twenty Air Force noncommissioned officers assigned to seminar grouPs of 13 or 14 were involved. No evidence of superiority was found for any of the three sets although significant correlations with various external criteria were obtained in all three experimental conditions. Significant differences were also found among the three rating sub-groups comprising each of the three treatment groups although these rating sub-groups were assigned randomly to the three treatment groups. The importance of controlling for group effects in peer group studies was noted. (Author/MH)